JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesia‘s Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has resigned, an aide said on Wednesday, November 11, a move that threatens to split a key political alliance and risks further political uncertainty in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Gibran, the 39-year-old son of former President Joko Widodo, has come under intense scrutiny from lawmakers following Constitutional Court and Supreme Court rulings last month that his education documents did not meet election requirements.
The aide, Budi Arie Setiadi, told Reuters that Gibran had tendered his resignation to President Prabowo Subianto earlier on Wednesday.
Separately, two sources at the parliamentary upper house, which will oversee the process of approving his resignation and selecting a replacement, said that he would submit his resignation letter to the upper house on Thursday morning.
Neither Gibran’s office nor Prabowo’s office immediately responded to a request for comment.
Late on Wednesday, Prabowo gave a long speech at a political party event. He did not mention Gibran’s resignation.
The resignation comes amid growing signs of strain in the political alliance between Prabowo, a powerful former general, and Widodo, also known as Jokowi, a highly popular leader who twice defeated Prabowo for the presidency before giving him his support after facing term limits.
An open split could spark further instability for an administration hit by scandals over signature programmes…
